Getting lost is not a waste of time, to travel is to evolve.
On the way to the train station in Munich for my trip to Hamburg, I arranged to meet up with my German classmate while studying Spanish in Barcelona, Julia. Munich is her home and she had just got married and was pregnant. It was so nice to meet up with her and share stories together. Though Julia was a lot younger than me, we always had much to talk about when we were back in Barcelona. I really enjoyed her positivity and energy towards life.
Actually before I set off to Hamburg, I had not yet connected successfully with my host there and got none of his replies about my arrival. It was pretty strange. Julia walked me to the station and it also turned out my original train to Hamburg was cancelled. It didn't appear that I could get another train to Hamburg that day. I had to make a very quick decision since the train on the next track going to Berlin was leaving in 15 minutes. I’d planned to see Berlin, but after visiting Copenhagen and Hamburg before that. I quickly hugged Julia goodbye, and jumped on the train to Berlin instead.
On this eight-hour train ride to Berlin, I had to figure out where to stay that night and postponed my trip to Hamburg. Luckily, I quickly connected with Yasmine, a Lebanese girl who offered to let me stay at her place. She told me that although she had plans to study that night, she’d love to host me.
The whole train ride felt really long. Although I was sitting in the first class lounge and the train seat was supposed to be comfy, I felt antsy after 6 hours on the train already. The last two hours felt never-ending. Finally I arrived in Berlin and it was already 8.45pm! I had to figure out how to get to Yasmine’s place which was another two connections and a 45 minute subway ride away.
I have heard people talk about Berlin so many times, and that it has a very colorful hippie spirit. It was already dark and I couldn’t really see what the city was like. However, from the pattern of the seat fabric to the colorful mosaic tiles by the platform, I was already mesmerised. I also felt I had stepped back into the eighties and was reminded of the Beatles and the love affair between John Lennon and Yoko Uno.
After getting lost and missing my connections a few times inside the station, I finally found my way to Yasmine’s place. It was pitch dark and I couldn’t see a thing on the road. I was feeling exhausted, starving, and a little bad about Yasmine waiting for me although otherwise I felt extremely calm, peaceful and loved. When I finally arrived at Yasmine’s small cozy studio in the suburbs of Berlin, it was already 10:30pm! What I couldn’t believe was that Yasmine had prepared a table of food for my arrival! There were salads and some fried Lebanese croques. She did not eat with me but I finished everything on the table.
After dinner, Yasmine also insisted that I sleep in her bed and she crashed on the sofa because it might be a bit small for me. Strangely, I couldn’t sleep a wink even though I was exhausted. It might be my full belly of food, but I guess I was just simply touched by her overwhelming hospitality.
Stay tuned...there’s much more to come!
In the next episode I’ll be sharing stories that occured in Hamburg, Germany.
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